Trump to Focus and relate on Economic Success in Davos
He’s the first U.S. president to visit the World Economic Forum in 18 years.
President Donald Trump plans to use his two-day trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to champion economic successes before an elite global audience unnerved by his pronounced isolationism.
The appearance is a strikingly incongruous one: Trump, the hot-headed, ill-mannered populist, carrying an "America First" platform into a snow-covered den of refined globalism that values multilateralism and cooperation.
His mission will be to tout American growth and promote investment, while at the same time staying true to his ironclad tenet of crafting reciprocal trade deals rooted in fairness to the U.S. All the while, this ego-conscious president will be seeking affirmation and accolades from the world leaders and wealthy business titans who attend the tony Alpine conference.
Trump will have a case to bring to bear: a tax-reduction package that's spurring companies to invest and pass part of the windfall onto their employees, record stock market highs and 3 percent growth. The International Monetary Fund this week forecast that global growth would accelerate to the fastest pace in seven years as a result of the GOP-backed tax cuts.
"We'll be talking about investing in the United States again, for people to come in and spend their money in the good old USA," the president said on Tuesday.
Even some of Trump's toughest critics have conceded he deserves some credit for a healthy and flourishing U.S. economy.
"I really liked what he's done for the economy and I think he's gone out of his way to be very, very supportive of the system," said Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein on CNBC Wednesday.
Trump is the first U.S. president to attend Davos since President Bill Clinton did so in 2000. That year, Clinton pushed for new trade markets and advocated for China's inclusion into the World Trade Organization. Trump is taking the opposite tack, threatening to scrap international trade agreements and preparing for retaliatory action against China for alleged theft of intellectual property.
"We're talking about big damages. We're talking about numbers that you haven't even thought about," Trump told Reuters last week in regards to China.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC that Trump's speech on Friday would be "largely consistent with positions that he's already taken," but noted that many significant issues would be dealt with in bilateral talks.
Trump is scheduled to hold private meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Theresa May as well as Swiss President Alain Berset and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Trump has a strong relationship with Netanyahu, who just finished convening with Vice President Mike Pence in Israel. Pence promised the Trump administration would advance its plan to open the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem by the end of 2019.
Trump's relationship with May is rocky, as the two have clashed over anti-terrorism policies and tactics. The president recently cancelled a planned visit to London in February amid threats of massive protests and after the British Parliament declined to extend an invitation for him to address them.
Trump could face questions from Kagame and other leaders about reportedly describing African nations as "shithole countries." The disparaging remark, which Trump categorized as "tough," triggered domestic and international outrage.
Leaders from India and Canada have preemptively rebuffed Trump's protectionist stance, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of "the poison of populism."
Just this week, the Trump administration announced its first tariffs on foreign-made washing machines and solar panels.
French President Emmanuel Macron, took a lighter approach to Trump's impending arrival at Davos, joking in his speech that "Fortunately you didn't invite anybody skeptical with global warming."
Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord is another pressure point with attendees. America's Pledge, a group run by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and California Gov. Jerry Brown, began running digital advertisements at the conference, noting the U.S. is the only country that has rejected the landmark climate agreement.
"President Trump, you have the power to help save our planet," the narrator says. "Lead, follow or get out of the way."
Protests are a hallmark of the Davos gathering, but what's unclear is the kind of reception Trump will receive from the world's most exclusive business leaders, a group of which he's always considered himself to be a part.
"The reality is he and his administration and his temperament are completely out of sync with the rest of the global leadership. He's going to be a bit of pariah," says Steve Westly, a venture capitalist and a former Chief Financial Officer of California. "Trump has battered America's brand around the world. I think it'll be a wake-up call for him."
Regardless, the global stage will serve as a lofty platform to preview Trump's next big domestic speech: his first State of the Union address, which is scheduled for Tuesday night.
US NEWS
President Donald Trump plans to use his two-day trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to champion economic successes before an elite global audience unnerved by his pronounced isolationism.
The appearance is a strikingly incongruous one: Trump, the hot-headed, ill-mannered populist, carrying an "America First" platform into a snow-covered den of refined globalism that values multilateralism and cooperation.
His mission will be to tout American growth and promote investment, while at the same time staying true to his ironclad tenet of crafting reciprocal trade deals rooted in fairness to the U.S. All the while, this ego-conscious president will be seeking affirmation and accolades from the world leaders and wealthy business titans who attend the tony Alpine conference.
Trump will have a case to bring to bear: a tax-reduction package that's spurring companies to invest and pass part of the windfall onto their employees, record stock market highs and 3 percent growth. The International Monetary Fund this week forecast that global growth would accelerate to the fastest pace in seven years as a result of the GOP-backed tax cuts.
"We'll be talking about investing in the United States again, for people to come in and spend their money in the good old USA," the president said on Tuesday.
Even some of Trump's toughest critics have conceded he deserves some credit for a healthy and flourishing U.S. economy.
"I really liked what he's done for the economy and I think he's gone out of his way to be very, very supportive of the system," said Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein on CNBC Wednesday.
Trump is the first U.S. president to attend Davos since President Bill Clinton did so in 2000. That year, Clinton pushed for new trade markets and advocated for China's inclusion into the World Trade Organization. Trump is taking the opposite tack, threatening to scrap international trade agreements and preparing for retaliatory action against China for alleged theft of intellectual property.
"We're talking about big damages. We're talking about numbers that you haven't even thought about," Trump told Reuters last week in regards to China.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC that Trump's speech on Friday would be "largely consistent with positions that he's already taken," but noted that many significant issues would be dealt with in bilateral talks.
Trump is scheduled to hold private meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Theresa May as well as Swiss President Alain Berset and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Trump has a strong relationship with Netanyahu, who just finished convening with Vice President Mike Pence in Israel. Pence promised the Trump administration would advance its plan to open the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem by the end of 2019.
Trump's relationship with May is rocky, as the two have clashed over anti-terrorism policies and tactics. The president recently cancelled a planned visit to London in February amid threats of massive protests and after the British Parliament declined to extend an invitation for him to address them.
Trump could face questions from Kagame and other leaders about reportedly describing African nations as "shithole countries." The disparaging remark, which Trump categorized as "tough," triggered domestic and international outrage.
Leaders from India and Canada have preemptively rebuffed Trump's protectionist stance, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of "the poison of populism."
Just this week, the Trump administration announced its first tariffs on foreign-made washing machines and solar panels.
French President Emmanuel Macron, took a lighter approach to Trump's impending arrival at Davos, joking in his speech that "Fortunately you didn't invite anybody skeptical with global warming."
Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord is another pressure point with attendees. America's Pledge, a group run by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and California Gov. Jerry Brown, began running digital advertisements at the conference, noting the U.S. is the only country that has rejected the landmark climate agreement.
"President Trump, you have the power to help save our planet," the narrator says. "Lead, follow or get out of the way."
Protests are a hallmark of the Davos gathering, but what's unclear is the kind of reception Trump will receive from the world's most exclusive business leaders, a group of which he's always considered himself to be a part.
"The reality is he and his administration and his temperament are completely out of sync with the rest of the global leadership. He's going to be a bit of pariah," says Steve Westly, a venture capitalist and a former Chief Financial Officer of California. "Trump has battered America's brand around the world. I think it'll be a wake-up call for him."
Regardless, the global stage will serve as a lofty platform to preview Trump's next big domestic speech: his first State of the Union address, which is scheduled for Tuesday night.
US NEWS
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